Monthly Archives: August 2014

Here are the full results from the NAGA tournament in Glen Falls, NY. Congratulations to everyone who competed. Special thanks to coaches Anthony Johnston, Ed Abrasely, Brody Neville and Mike Bidwell for a great coaching job Saturday.

Gladius XII Full Card Report

August 2, 2014; Sharkey’s Bar & Grill

Fight Seven: Ryan Balintfly vs. Lushima Kuajo Lumba-Kasamango, 170 lbs
Syracuse’s own Ryan Balintfly of Tai Kai faced Lushima Kuajo Lumba-Kasamango of Ithaca in a welterweight bout. Neither fighter showed an ounce of extra weight, but it was a classic case of a stout, powerfully built fighter in Balintfly against a lean, athletic fighter in Lumba-Kasamango.

Lumba-Kasamango looked to use his length to fight on the outside, but Balintfly forced a clinch and muscled a takedown against the side of the cage. Balintfly improved to a half guard and looked to mash Lumba-Kasamango against the cage while setting up his ground and pound, but Lumba-Kasamango managed to retake guard. Lumba-Kasamango attempted to sweep but Balintfly postured up and rolled back into guard. Balintfly crammed Lumba-Kasamango back against the cage and tried to open up with his offense while Lumba-Kasamango held on in a purely defensive position. This round was clearly a 10-9 round for Balintfly.

Lumba-Kasamango looked to circle and kick as the second round began, while Balintfly pressed forward. Lumba-Kasamango landed a thudding body kick but Balintfly took it in stride and pushed him into the cage, taking him back to the mat. Lumba-Kasamango rolled through, briefly reversing position, but could do very little from the top and Balintfly quickly reversed back to top position again, where he pounded on Lumba-Kasamango’s body. Balintfly pushed him to the cage and landed some bombs to the head along the cage in the last seconds of the round. The round clearly belonged to Balintfly and was close to being a 10-8 round based on the heavy shots he landed late. Lumba-Kasamango was staggering as he returned to his corner, earning him a long and close look from the referee between rounds.

As the third round started, Balintfly secured a quick double underhook in the clinch and slammed Lumba-Kasamango to the mat. Balintfly worked from the guard, landing a couple of heavy shots as he worked to push Lumba-Kasamango into the corner. Lumba-Kasamango was extremely game made a nice sweep attempt, but Balintfly postured up and blocked it easily to finish the round in guard. All three judges were unanimous in awarding the decision to Ryan Balintfly.